Chapter 4 - THE STOWAWAY
The trawler’s diesel engine roared as Elias threw the throttle wide open.
"Get in the fish hold!" Elias bellowed over the screaming engine. "Don't come out, no matter what you hear!"
Mara didn't argue. She scrambled down the rusted ladder into the dark, foul-smelling belly of the boat, pulling the heavy wooden hatch shut above her. The smell of rotting scales and brine was suffocating, but she pressed herself against the damp bulkhead, her heart hammering against her ribs.
Above her, she heard the heavy thud of the interceptor boat slamming against the side of the trawler. Boots hit the deck. Men shouting in harsh, clipped voices.
"Coast Guard!" a voice lied smoothly. "Kill the engine, old man."
"I ain't doing nothing illegal!" Elias yelled back, playing the part of a confused fisherman flawlessly. "Just hauling mackerel!"
"We're looking for a woman," the voice said. The floorboards above Mara creaked as heavy boots walked directly over her head. "Fell off a freighter an hour ago. You seen anything?"
Mara squeezed her eyes shut. She clutched the silver locket so tightly the metal bit into her palm.
"A woman? Out here?" Elias laughed, a raspy, dismissive sound. "Only thing I've pulled out of the water today is kelp. You're welcome to check the nets."
Silence stretched. The tension in the dark hold was unbearable.
"Fine," the voice finally said. "Keep your radio on. If you see her, report it. She's a killer."
The boots moved away. The interceptor boat revved its high-powered engines and peeled away, the wake rocking the trawler violently.
Mara waited ten agonizing minutes before the hatch above her cracked open. Sunlight poured in, blinding her.
"They're gone," Elias said, offering his hand.
When Mara climbed out, Elias was already plotting a course on his navigation console. He looked older, his face pale under his weathered tan.
"They weren't Coast Guard," Elias said quietly. "They were corporate fixers. Mercenaries. I've seen their kind in these waters."
Mara looked out at the horizon. "They're going to Los Arcos. Where the ship is going."
"Then we go the other way," Elias said firmly. "I'll take you to the mainland. We call the real authorities."
"No," Mara said, the word surprising even her.
Elias stared at her. "Are you crazy? They will kill you."
"Thomas is dead," Mara said, her voice hardening. "Captain Ward is sailing a crew of innocent people into a smuggler's den, and he gave me the map to find them. He could have let me die, but he didn't. He wants me to follow him."
"Why?"
"Because of Leo," Mara realized, the truth hitting her like a physical blow. "His son. The men on that ship... Ward isn't in control of the Azure Queen. He’s a hostage on his own vessel."
Elias rubbed his face, letting out a long, defeated sigh. "I'm a sixty-year-old fisherman, Mara. I don't fight mercenaries."
"You don't have to," Mara said. "Just get me close. Drop me at the edge of the shipyard. I know the ship. I know how to get on board unseen."
By nightfall, the air grew thick with fog. Elias navigated the treacherous coastal reefs with the lights off, the trawler gliding silently into the shadow of the towering, rust-eaten cranes of Los Arcos.
The Azure Queen was already docked. Floodlights illuminated the massive cargo bay doors.
Mara slipped over the side of the trawler into the freezing water, wearing a dark wetsuit Elias had found below deck.
"Be careful, kid," Elias whispered into the dark.
Mara swam silently through the oily water, approaching the massive steel anchor chain of the freighter. She began to climb, her muscles burning, until she slipped through the hawsepipe and onto the darkened foredeck.
She crept through the shadows, heading for the captain's quarters. The ship was strangely quiet.
She reached Ward’s cabin and tried the handle. Unlocked. She slipped inside, the room pitch black.
"Dad said the water lady would come back," a tiny voice whispered from the darkness.
Mara froze. She reached for the desk lamp and clicked it on.
Seven-year-old Leo was sitting inside the open wardrobe, hugging his knees to his chest. His eyes were wide and terrified.
Before Mara could speak, the cabin door clicked shut behind her.
The lock turned with a heavy clack.
May you like
Mara spun around. Captain Adrian Ward stood in the doorway, his uniform rumpled, his face bruised and exhausted. He looked at her, entirely unsurprised.
"You're late," Ward whispered.
